Page 59 of The BoneKeeper's Daughter

She freezes, head tilting as though she’s listening to some quiet caution that is too soft for me to hear, delicate fingers twisting the chain around her throat. Her reply is slow, carefully planned, spoken as though others are waiting on the answer with pricked ears.

“I think life would be a very lonely thing without people you love, and who love you in return. Almost unbearable, really.” It’s not an answer, but doesn’t invite further discussion. “What about you?” She glances at me from beneath thick white lashes, and raises a brow. It’s…it’s unexpectedly and ridiculously adorable, and it makes me stupid.

“Me? Do I have people I love? Of course!”Oh Kaden, you idiot. There’s obviously no “of course”.Stumbling over my words, I rush to fill the silence. “My aunts and uncles and their kids. Three nieces. Three nephews. More trouble than they’re worth.” Affection fills my tone thinking of their faces. “I have a dog. Is that stupid? But I love him.”

“A…what is that? A dog?”

“You don’t havedogs?”

She shrugs, a half-movement, and I try to describe him. “Like…like a wolf? Do you have wolves?” I continue at her nod. “So, like a very friendly wolf. Who lives inside with me. And takes up most of the bed.”

“A wolf in yourhome?” The astonishment and curiosity in her voice is enough to make me throw all caution to the wind.

“We do. It’s not a wolf exactly, but about the size of one. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference after dark on a walk.Except for the fact that wolves are quiet, and my dog’s an idiot who trips over his own fee, much like his master.” I grin at the thought of him. “He was the runt, and almost drowned at birth because of it. But I convinced my mother to let me try with him, as long as I promised to shoot him if he didn't turn out. Val — that’s my dog — ended up being the best of the bunch.” I can’t keep the pride from my voice. “He’s great on the hunt, perfect to command. But he gets overly excited sometimes, and then turns into a full-scale calamity.”

“I wish I could see him.” She smiles a little at my description, and shakes her head. “A wolf in your home.”

“Come back with me and I’ll give you a puppy to raise yourself,” I offer out of nowhere, and then, “I’m sorry. That was stupid. I speak without thinking sometimes. My mother would say ‘most of the time’.”

“Your mother is on the list of people you love?” She couldn’t know the question is a knife in my side.

“Ah. I…respect my mother. Deeply. I don’t think there’s anyone I respect more,” I’m cautious and hedge the question, but there’s something in my answer that makes her unbearably sad.

“Respect and love are very different things. Very.” In the distance, a song starts playing, growing louder and louder, though not as if it’s approaching us. It seems more like…a crazy thought, but like the music is traveling along the curved white walls around us. “We should get you back,” she says suddenly. “If the music has started, so has the Trade. You’ll miss out on the fun. Rare as water at this time of year.”

Turning from me, she starts walking away, but freezes when I whisper, “Flame?” There is no answer but I know she’s listening. “Will you dance with me? In the keep? When we get back?”

Without looking at me, she shakes her head. “I can’t.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?”

“Can’t.”

“What if…what if we…” Moving as though she were a bird perched on a tree branch, so as not to startle her into flight, I step towards her. Carefully, carefully, then reach out a hand once I’m in front of her, making sure not to push, not to grab.Just wait. Wait for her.“Will you dance with me here? For a moment?”

Longing crashes over her face out of nowhere, so unexpected and overwhelming that I wonder if I’ve misstepped again.

“I don’t know how.” Shrugging helplessly, she folds into herself. “I would make a terrible partner.”

“You won’t,” I say confidently. “Not to brag, but I’m incredibly good at leading.” Grinning down at her, even though she can’t see me, I puff my chest pretentiously. “Training, you know. I never wince when a lady steps on my feet.”

The music grows louder, as though encouraging her, and she throws up her hands in the air. “Alright! Alright! You’re pushy today.” A little gurgle of laughter burbles from her throat, and when she places her hand in mine, all rational thought flees.

“So…step, step, step together, step…” I chant quietly, and in ten steps my heart has torn itself apart and reknit in an entirely new pattern. She is, without a doubt, the worst dancer I have ever partnered, tripping over her feet, tangling her legs in her dress, and I have to catch her several times to keep her upright. It is my favorite thing that has happened to me in my life, and all I want is for every dance from now to eternity to be this awkward, and ungainly, and ridiculous. “And step, step, twirl — Sea and stars, are you alright, Flame?”

On the twirl, she spun too quickly, and out of my hand, and down to the ground before I could stop her.

She looks almost stunned for the length of a panicked breath on my part, then starts laughing so loud, and long, it’s like a song written only for me. Tears form at the corner of her eyes, and she lifts a finger to catch one, staring at it in bewilderment before shaking her head. “I…I…I…” My Flame can’t even get words out; she looks lit from within with amusement, and pulls answering laughter from my heart.

“I’m sorry!” I chortle, trying desperately not to make her feel like I’m laughingather. “I should have caught you!”

“Oh Gods above and below! I’m so…I’mterrible!” Her grin swallows her face, and I just stare at her for what feels like forever. “You have me off-balance, Trader. In more ways than one.”

She is a single star in the night sky, and it’s overwhelming. “I can’t keep calling you ‘Flame’. Won’t you tell me your name?” I’m almost begging, and I’m not a man who begs. Usually. Though I’m quickly learning that when you are hungry enough, you will drop to your knees for a crumb if that’s what it takes.

“I don’t know…” she says slowly, still smiling. “What about your labors? You haven’t gotten the mountain flower yet.” She’s teasing, but I can’t keep a serious note from my reply, though I make every effort.

“I’m looking at the mountain flower. I just don’t know its name.”

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